Yorkshire Wildlife Park: Doncaster attraction celebrates arrival of rare monkey

Red Howler Monkey pairing of mum Tila and dad Geronimo, both brightly coloured, welcomed their baby primate last Saturday.

Yorkshire Wildlife Park is home to the only Red Howler Monkeys in England, and had the first ever birth of this species in the UK in 2021.

Sister Pabla was born in October of that year.

YWP’s Primates Team Leader Greg Clifton said: “We are extremely excited to welcome a new Red Howler Baby at the park for the second time in under two years.

“It is an important birth for this rare species.

“We feel extremely privileged to be one of the only nine zoos in Europe to hold the species and the only one in this country.

“It’s still too early to tell the sex of the baby, but at they are doing very well, and we are very excited to see how they will fit in with the rest of the group.”

The new arrival will spend the next few months holding tight to his mum’s belly and under close supervision. But Howler Monkey males have a huge part in the rearing of young in their groups.

The Red Howler Monkeys live in the South American area at Yorkshire Wildlife Park alongside Giant Anteaters.

Even though Red Howler monkeys are classed as ‘least concern’, they share their natural habitat with other critically endangered species, such as the Cotton-Top Tamarin, which are also bred in the Park.